A social exchange perspective on employee performance in Sierra Leone’s public sector: the roles of authentic leadership, participative decision-making, and trust

Abstract

Purpose Based on Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Social Information Processing (SIP), this research attempts to explore the effect that Participative Decision-Making (PDM) has on the performance of employees working in Sierra Leone’s public sector using Affective Trust, Work Engagement, Affective Commitment, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) as mediating variables in relation to Authentic Leadership as a moderating variable. Design/Methodology/Approach The study used a quantitative and cross-sectional research design. Data collection was conducted among public sector employees in Sierra Leone using a convenience sampling method. The study applied Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the measurement and structural model hypotheses. Findings The empirical results reveal that participative decision-making (PDM) associate with employee performance through affective trust, which associate to work engagement and affective commitment, resulting in organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The variable of work engagement proved itself as a better predictor of OCB than affective commitment. Besides, authentic leadership moderated the relationship between affective trust and work engagement/affective commitment. Originality/value The current research contributes to the SET and SIP frameworks by validating a step-by-step process leading to PDM, which ultimately influences Employee Performance. The study fills one of the significant gaps in the literature by providing evidence from an unexplored area of public sector employees in Sierra Leone.